|
Rating:  -
If you have doubt about your faith, this movie will inspire you. Anthony Quinn gives a award winning performance.
Rating:  -
"Barabbas" is not a bad movie if you are watching it simply for the entertainment value. Anthony Quinn is very good and so are his co-stars. The script drags somewhat, with the second part being more interesting than the first. However, if you are wanting to look at this film in the sense of whether it portrays the message of Christianity well, then this movie is less than average. It portrays early Christians well, but the problem is with the portrayal of Barabbas. There is no complexity in the character of Barabbas, he simply "goes with the flow." There is never true repentence on his part, never a true understanding of the meaning of Christ and Christianity. It is simply not a film you would want to show your children if you want them to have a deeper understanding of their faith. For great classical gladiatoral action, this is a great movie (Jack Palance is wonderful), but it fails in portraying any deeper spiritual message.
Rating: -
Jesus dies in your place--would you have conflicting emotions??? It really happened, in a real jail, with a real n'er-do-well, and in real dirt and arena sand!!! It had real prostitutes, real crooks, and Jesus; the destiny of; the fate of; the temptation of; the betrayal of; and the crucifixion of Him! But all that is background--yes, that's right, Jesus is background--but, omnipresent and pervading overall. One of Anthony Quinn's best performances. What would you have done, if you had been a malcontent? Would you have changed? Would your life be the same? What am I talking about? Will you forget about your popcorn???
Rating:  -
"Barabbas" is an Italian film released in 1961 and directed by Richard Fleischer ("The Vikings"). It's a sword & sandal epic that begins where more popular biblical epics leave off, like "Ben-Hur," "King of Kings" and "The Passion of the Christ."
THE STORY: Anthony Quinn plays the titular character, a murderous lout and insurrectionist condemned to die at the time of the trial of Christ. Barabbas' first name was Jesus, so Roman governor Pilate was essentially asking the crowd to choose between Jesus Barabbas and Jesus Christ, the guilty or the innocent, to be put put to death or set free. They of course choose to condemn the innocent so Barabbas is set free. Throughout the rest of his life Barabbas is haunted by Christ's sacrifice and struggles with guilt over his unmerited salvation. His ex-girlfriend is stoned to death for her Christian beliefs, he spends twenty years as a slave in the notorious sulfur mines and then becomes a gladiator. His life is a constant struggle -- with himself, with others, with his beliefs, with his various predicaments and mostly with God Himself.
No one knows what really happened to Barabbas after he was set free; this is a fictional account based on the novel by Par Larverkvist.
WHAT WORKS: The picture was filmed entirely in Italy, including Sicily, and the locations & sets are great and very authentic-looking. The Colosseum scenes were filmed at real Italian amphitheaters, so these sequences have a genuine feel as opposed to the fake-looking CGI Colosseum scenes in "Gladiator."
The stoning scene is truly heart-wrenching. The is the first and only film I've ever seen that shows what a real-life stoning was like, and it's not pretty.
Silvana Mangano plays Barabbas' ex-girlfriend Rachel. Unfortunately her natural beauty is played way down here. Be sure to catch Silvana in Kirk Douglas' "Ulysses" (1954) where she plays both Penelope and the witch/siren Circe. Silvana's beauty is absolutely captivating in "Ulysses," which has far more pizzazz than the comparatively boring "The Odyssey" (1997).
The sulfur mine sequences have a very realistic feel. So much so it may occur to you that, no matter how bad you have it, at least you're not a slave in a sulfur mine.
Jack Palance plays the lead gladiator. He lives for one purpose only: to entertain spectators by killing people in the arena. He thrives on the accolades he receives. What will happen when Barabbas faces him in a duel to the death?
The gladiatorial scenes are pretty much on a par with similar scenes in "Spartacus" and "Ben-Hur" (although, of course, nothing can ever top the spectacular chariot race).
Ernest Borgnine is also on hand in a small role. You can never go wrong with Borgnine.
The score by Mario Nascimbene is ultra-solemn and potent.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The picture starts off slowly and doesn't really capture your full attention until the stoning sequence, which is a full 40 minutes into the story. In other words, be prepared to persevere for about 45 minutes or so. At the 50-minute mark the mine scenes start and you'll start to lose consciousness of time passing (the film runs 2 hours and 17 minutes).
FYI: The Almighty (apparently) provided an actual total solar eclipse February 15, 1961 to realistically enhance the eerie scenes of darkness, which mysteriously fell across the land after Jesus' crucifixion. The score during this scene is simple, almost non-existent, but truly ominous.
FINAL ANALYSIS: "Barabbas" successfully depicts every man or woman's struggle with sin, guilt, redemption, suffering and the search for ultimate reality or truth. This is not a fun, adventurous or action-packed film (although there's some good action in the gladiatorial scenes). Barabbas' journey is torturous at best, but definitely worthwhile if you're in the proper brooding mood for such a picture.
COMPARISON: Although "Barabbas" isn't as great as other biblical epics like "Ben-Hur" or "The Ten Commandments" or sword & sandal epics like "Troy," it's better than the incredibly melodramatic "The Robe" (which is a horrible film!) and the ridiculously boring "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (how about "The Boring-est Film Ever Made"?). It's on a par with films like "Samson and Delilah," "King of Kings" and "Spartacus" (even though I give "Spartacus" a slight edge).
Rating: -
"Barabbas" is a stunning film. Anthony Quinn portrays the criminal released instead of Christ during the Holy Days, and he has to live with the guilt for the rest of his life.
The film is filled with dark scenes and dark emotions. Unlike many films dealing with the story of Christ's death and resurrection, this film presents all the events as hearsay. Neither Barabbas nor the audience is able to witness Christ's resurrection and subsequent appearances--only the word of the faithful is offered as evidence. None of the miracles of Christ are shown--but a truly disturbing scene involving Lazarus, whom Christ raised from the dead in the Gospel account--is presented as a disturbing, spooky figure--who lets Barabbas know he is in the realm of awesome, mysterious events.
Especially today, with the recent news of Mother Theresa of Calcutta's own "dark night of the soul" so current, this is a gripping film that offers no easy solutions to the metaphysical questions it poses--=but it affirms faith as, perhaps, the only recourse for suffering humanity.
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Most Popular TV collectibles
|
|
Home
Articles
Images
Forum
Search
Shopping
TV Trivia
Watch TV
Wallpaper
